Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-08
WASHINGTON.
Texas Man Will Probably be Appoint,
ed as One of the Inter State
Commerce Commissioners.
The Senate Rejects tho Nomination CT Mat
thews as Recorder of Deeds of
the District of Columbia,
REAGAN AT THE CAPITAL.

CbCIi6A W INT SdECbACs
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7.-Congressman
and Senator-elect Reagan returned here
last night. He was warmly greeted by
his legion of friends in Washington. He
is in good health and spirits. Ia reply to
your correspondents questions as to his
naming one OF the Interstate commerce
commissioners. he said: az have given
the matter no attention. l have only
lust returned, and have not
seen ANYBODY. l will of course
consult the Texas delegation. You can
say, however, tina. the man we will rec
ommend will be Texan" Mr.. Reagan
will undoubtedly have considerable in
duence with the President, and his sug-
gestions as to the makeup OF the com
mission will be duly considered. 1t is
only Just and proper that the President
should accord this courtesy to the orig
inator of this important measure.
WASHINGTON NOTES.
Special to the Gazette.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1,-Lieutenant Fl.
S. T Harris, assistant surgeon, has been
ordered from Fort Clarke to Fort Ring
gold.
Mr.. Mills to-day presented in the
House petition of James ?. Hodgett,
postmaster ct McGregor, Tex, asking
that Congress reimburse him for the loss
of material destroyed by fire in the post
office May %, 1886. The claim is for
Sl5l5.
In the department of Texas hospital
stewards, Richard Dare at Fort Davis
and Leslie Haven at Fort Clarke have
been ordered to exchange posts.
The correspondence between the two
wings OF the Democratic party in the
House il reference to the tariff legisla-
ton has failed to bring them any closer
together, or to afford any satisfactory
basis for compromise.
AN INSULT TO THE PRESIDENT.
WASHINGTON, Feb. THE document
prepared by Senator ingalls, and offered
in the shape of q resolution, regarding the
rejection by the Senate of the nomination
of Mathews as Recorder of Deeds OF the
District of Columbia, was to-day adopted
by the Senate, % to IS, q party vote, and
will he sent to the President with the re-
lection. The document is in part as fol-
lows: The President attempts TO Justify
the denomination of Mr.. Mathews by
stating
J. That the fitness Of nominee has been
demonstrated.
lllI JIG prov Opl'oShbiclA ~ LIS
appointment among the citizens of the dis
trict has largely subsidized.
,. That he desires to tender just recog
milton and good faith toward cur colored
citizens.
4. 1t is sufficient answer to the first two
reasons alleged to say that neither could
could have been applicable when Mathews
was appointed IN August Immediately
after the adjournment of the Senate, for
at that time his fitness had not been
demonstrated, nor had there been
any interval for the local opposition
to subside. Until suggested by the Presi-
dent, the Senate was not aware that the
question of Just recognition or good faith
to our colored fellow-CitiZ ems was in
volved in the question, and it has never
before been urged that a person nom
inatad for an office should be confirmed
or rejected because he was black or
white. This classification has been
abolished by amendments of the
constitution and is no longer
properly to be recognized in dealing with
public affairs. The Senate, however, in
view of the message of the President,
would spprise him, since he has raised
the race issue, that Frederick Douglas, 1t
was understood, resigned the office OF
Recorder of Deeds in the District OF
Columbia in order that James c. Mathews
might be appointed to the place.
Without doubt Frederick Douglas is the
most distinguished representative Of the
colored race, not in this country only, but
in the world. Just recognition would
have been rendered to other colored fell
low citizens by the retention of Freder-
ick Douglas rather than by his en-
~, nd fn rnyT-a ~I
an unknown and obscure partisan who
had never been a slave and therefore
represented the enfranchised race only
by accident of color The devotion of
the President to the political and civil adj
vancement of the colored race might have
been equally attested and good faith might
have been as strongly evinced by the
retention of Douglas in office whose
duties he was discharging to the satisfac-
ton of the people, unless it is to be I'M
derstood that Just recognition is to be
rendered only the members of that race
who are supposed to entertain particular
political opinions. In such case the issue
of race disappears and the test
is politics. The Senate has no
official information other than that
contained in the message of the President
whether Matthews is white or black. He
is admitted to be citizen OF New York.
The office to which he is nominated is
strictly local. The compensation for the
performance OF its duties comes mainly
from citizens of the District of Columbia
having papers to be recorded therein.
His confirmation was opposed substan-
TALLY by citizens of the District without
regard to color, politics or occupation.
NOMINATIONS.
WASHINGTON, Feb. THE President
sent the following nominations to the
Senate to day: f. c. Moore of Missouri,
Consul General to the City of Mexico;
J. NJ. Needham of Fisnklin, Ind, agent
for the Indians of the Lemhl agency in
Idaho.
COAST DEFENSES.
WASHINGTON, Feb. THE conference
committee on the fertilization appropria-
ton bill to-day heard several persons
upon the subject of coast defense. Lieu
tenant Zalinsky described the experiment
he had been making with his dynamite
gun and outlined his plan of defense
based on the use of that instrument of
warfare, while General Bennett, Colonel
Dana and Captain Smith suggested meth
DDS by which war material now on hand
ln al